Broken Faded Alone
by Nostromo-8013
Summary: When young Clementine meets a wild, rough, one-eyed boy, her as-of-late miserable life is turned around. The two children suddenly become 'we' and together they will try and brave this cruel world.
1. Remains of the Day

She was trapped, injured and all alone. Her old group had been overrun just the day before and she couldn't move far. The girl clutched her arm and frantically searched for a way out, there was no immediate route, the walkers were pushing her farther back against the thick tree line, it was getting dark and she did not want to get caught in there.

She felt around her pockets for the picture of Lee. "I-I'm sorry, Lee…" she whimpered. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the walkers to tear her apart. "HEY!" Clem's eyes flew open o see a small figure waving a flare at the walkers, "Come an' get me you rotting freaks!" She could barely see them as the boy went down, there was a scuffle, snapping of teeth and a yelp. The figure stood up, shoving the walker off of him. He laughed, "Shows how smart they are. HAH!"

She was huddled at the base of a large bush, hoping not to have been seen.  
>"Hey, I know you're there. Y'don't have to hide. I won't hurt you."<p>

"Promise?" Clem asked, looking at the form against the graying sky.

"Cross my heart an' hope to die! I probably will, so…yeah. No need to fear me." The boy extended his hand. "It's okay." Clem hesitantly took the boy's hand and got a better look at him. The boy had black hair that was very tangled and fell in his face. She noticed an especially dark shadow beneath his right eye, which she realized was an eyepatch. "What's your name?" Shayne asked.

"It's Clementine." She replied softly, averting her eyes.

"I'm Shane. Nice to meet you, Clementine, we'd better not hang around too long, I think I hear more biters." The boy, Shane said, looking around cautiously. And just like that, the two lost children became 'we.'

The two kids were sitting

"How'd you survive this long?" Shane asked Clementine as he carved a long stick to a deadly sharp point. The two Clem sighed, "I had a group as while back, they helped me. A man found me and took care of me for a while, his name was Lee." Shane noted her use of past tense. "What happened to him?"

Clem flinched, "He-he uh…died a long time ago."

Shane sighed, "I know the feelings kiddo." He looked a little distant and closed his eye. "I lost my family a while ago."  
>Clem looked away, "Sorry." She replied softly.<p>

"Nah, its fine. I'm totally over it." He thought for a moment, "Hey, wanna go find something to eat?" Clementine watched him, all too aware of the evasion. "Yeah, we better be careful though." She straightened her hat firmly on her head. "Let's go."

The two returned after an hour of fruitless searching, exhausted and still just as hungry, Clem and Shane returned to the hideout they'd occupied. "Man, that sucked. Find anything?" Shane asked Clementine who was flat on her back. "Nope." She replied sadly.

"We're gonna starve before the biters get to us, eh?"

Clem shuddered, "You're a very….'up' person y'know that?" Shane chuckled, and shrugged. "Just how you look at things I guess. " He leaned back against the wall. The two had managed to find an abandoned building, this room alone had a sturdy door.

Shane looked over a Clem and thought for a moment, "We need to set up traps. For food, _and_ walkers." Clem looked surprised at his seemingly ridiculous proposal. "_Walkers?" _

"Think about it, this is our... stronghold of sorts, and it makes sense to protect it! Like, we could hammer stakes into trees, set booby traps! We could be safe for a long time!"

"Aaand what if _we_ set off a trap or two?" Clem asked, seemed like a fair question.

"We'd make a map!" Shane said, holding out his hands as though envisioning the very near future. "A map!" He claimed again.

"Exactly how long have you been alone?" Clementine asked politely.

Shane shrugged, "I dunno, a while I guess."  
>"That explains it." Clem muttered, she sighed. "We'll, for starters we're going to need supplies. How late is it?"<br>Shane peeked out of the high window, "The sun is still kinda high, we got a little time." He nodded, "You wanna do this? Make a run now?"  
>"Yeah, I mean, who knows, I may have to pull you out of a bind." Clem said, punching his arm as she went past him. Shane plastered on a grim, crooked smile on his face and followed.<p>

Maybe things would be alright after all. Clementine had a family again; she could get over Christa, Omid, but not Lee. Lee would always be there, a little whisper in the back of her mind, telling her not to worry, not to be afraid, to be smarter than them, to be faster, and she vowed every day she woke in one piece that she would be. Shane was a lonely boy in a world filled with loneliness and betrayal after betrayal. He hardly knew any kindness and little love. He had no mother, father, brother or sister to help him. He had no one until Clem came along, so maybe, just maybe, they'll be able to calm down…

"Hey!" Clem called quietly, after they'd been walking for a while, the duo had stumbled across a ravaged campsite with little left over. She picked up a bit of rope, that looked like a pretty sorry piece of equipment.

_To be continued…._

_So, what did you think of that? I know it's a little short but, I'll write longer chapters in the long run._


	2. Kookaburra

_AN- Here we go for chapter 2! Sorry this took forever. I just finished it up this morning. _

_Note; the song used is "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree" I love it, and decided to use it. Ain't mine, the only thing that belongs to me is Shane...and the other characters that are introduced._

_Guest- Well...make up a pairing name and I'll see what I can do...Haha. Nah, here you go._

_ShadowClub- That's your opinion. ;)_

_Pie guy- Here you go. Enjoy._

* * *

><p>Shane smiled at Clem, "Yeah, well, that rope ain't gonna do us much good now is it?" He pointed out good naturedly.<p>

"I guess…"

"Right, look here, some poor bastard left this behind," Shane held up a coil of wire that was mostly hidden under the RV. "Now _this _is useful." He declared as he stuffed it in Clementine's backpack. "We'll make booby traps." He claimed and went on. "Awh, there ain't nothing else here. Let's go back." He looked about fearfully; it was getting dark out… He waited for Clem to follow and led the way, whistling. _Don't be afraid, Shane. There's nothing to fear, so don't be scared of it. You're smarter than them, I promise._

_Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree_

_Merry, merry king of the bush is he_

_Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!_

_Gay your life must be_

_Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree_

_Eating all the gum drops he can see_

_Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!_

_Leave some there for me_

* * *

><p><em> "Come on!" He heard his mother shout for him, the little boy heard a scream and the tearing of something…He didn't want to find out what it was. He stumbled after his mother, but stopped. He couldn't find her. Where was she? "Mom?" He called, suddenly feeling very alone. He ran behind a nearby car as he spotted someone lurching towards him, he brought his knees up to his chest and rocked back and forth, murmuring to himself a song his mother sang to him when he was afraid, <em>

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Merry, merry king of the bush is he

Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!

Gay your life must be

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree

Eating all the gum drops he can see

Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!

Leave some there for me

_He screamed as the walker nearly fell on top of him, snapping its decaying jaws at him. He scrambled away as fast as he could; he tripped over himself and scrambled under the car. It attempted to follow him, and in a staggering moment of clarity he realized whose corpse it was. "Mama?" Shane whispered, terrified he kicked it with all his might. He managed to slow it down enough to get away, the boy half stumbled, half, ran down the street. He didn't stop until he felt as though his legs were jelly and his lungs were nearly bursting. He leaned against an old building, breathing hard. He dove through the window as he heard voices not too far away. People? Actual, proper people? He peered out to see who they were. Three burly, biker guys, he recognized them. They often terrorized the neighborhood and threw beer blasts every other _day_. The whole town hated them, and these were who he was stuck with in the end? Screw karma._

* * *

><p>The two walked in silence for a while until they reached the building that they'd claimed as their own. "Tomorrow, we can head up to the feed mill and get some kind of bait. We'll figure it out tomorrow morning. For now, let's get some sleep, eh?"<p>

Clementine nodded and said nothing, sensing that he did not want to talk. She simply went to her part of the room and curled up. Shane made sure everything was secure, the windows shut tight, and wood leaned against them and the door of course. Then went to lie down, he was only just drifting off when he realised Clementine was lying beside him, shivering a little. "You okay?"

He realised that she wasn't cold, but crying. Softly, he began to sing; "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree..."

"Rise and shine, Clementine!" Shane exclaimed as he shook her. "Come on, we have to go! Feed mill remember?"  
>"Yeah…Okay." Clem murmured as she forced herself to stand. "Let's go."<p>

They went on for a while, according to Shane's sense of direction, the feed mill was off to the north. If they kept going this way, they could get there with enough light to get home. _Home._ All that remained, she supposed.

"Tree!" Shane hissed, breaking into her thoughts. Not even questioning his words, she searched for a tree; Shane had swung up into the lower branches of a knotty pine, "Here!" He reached for her hand, and pulled her up into the tree. Just as several dozen walkers lurched below. "Whoa…" Clem whispered, clinging to Shane tightly. "Yup. A herd. Ever seen so many at once?"

Clem nodded and watched the macabre parade lurch beneath, the stench of rotting bodies made their eyes water, and it was nearly thirty minutes until they passed. Clem was breathing shallowly as she watched the last of them melt into the shadows. "We have to hurry now…" Shane said quietly, as he jumped out of the tree, followed by Clem.

They arrived at the feed mill a couple hours later, with no mentionable incidents. The ground was a bit marshy around the mill…

"I just hope the rats haven't gotten to it yet." Shane said a little wistfully. They managed to break the padlock on the door, with a little help from a large rock, and they slipped inside. The place smelled like rat pee, decay and musty seed. "Hope there's something salvageable here," Shane muttered to himself as he looked about. "Ah, here we go." He found a heavy duty bag of dried corn and other things. "Deer feed." He claimed, "Should attract other things too. AND the animals will lure the walkers into our traps. Though I'm not sure how that plays in our favour…." He shrugged and tried to heft it up, but failed miserably.

Clementine nodded, "Need help?"

"Yeah…" He froze as he heard voices nearing the mill. "Hide, quick!" he hissed and scrambled behind some barrels, Clem followed suit.

"Right, scout the place out. If you find anyone….well… deal with them." The gruff sounding man had said.

There were at least three people, a woman and two men. "Jamie, over here, look at this." The gruff man said, Clementine dared to peer around the barrel, he'd found their footprints. "They're very fresh, Warren," Jamie replied, looking about. "Small too….Children?" She looked about, "I doubt they're still here, Jamie." That was another woman. Clementine accidentally knocked something over, everyone froze, held their breaths…No one dared to move.

"Come on out…We won't hurt you…" Warren said in a softer tone.

Shane gritted his teeth, "Screw you bastards!" He called.

"Whoa now, easy, wasn't tryin' to upset you." He gestured towards the barrels. Jamie and the other man went forth to get them. "Well, well, well, two dirty little rats."

"Warren…don't scare them now, they're kids!" Jamie snapped at Warren, releasing Clementine gently. "Sorry, darlin' he's just a little…high strung. Don't worry about him."

Shane glared at the man who let him go. He was tall, and thin with thick-rimmed glasses. "Piss off Four-Eyes!" he snapped. The man simply rolled his eyes and backed away.

"Who are you?" Warren asked a lower voice that somehow sounded like a knife. Clementine was shaking, and looked to Shane, who nodded reluctantly. "I-I'm Clementine...""Shane." He replied, spitting at Warren, who simply grinned.

"You two have spirit, I'll give you that."

"What are you going to do with us?" Clementine asked, looking up at the man who held their lives in his hand.

"Don't you worry about getting' killed darling.' Ain't no one gonna hurt you. Tha's a promise." Warren replied, in a voice that sounded somewhat kinder than before.


End file.
